World Watch Monitor is particularly concerned with reporting on the underlying causes of persecution. We aim to connect the dots to reveal the forces behind acts of violence and injustice.

We strive to be the most trusted and consulted source of news about Christians who suffer for their faith. World Watch Monitor editors commission journalists around the world to report on persecution, from breaking news to in-depth analysis. We seek authentic voices on the ground, always with the aim to place such incidents within a broader narrative to explain context. We are committed to classic journalistic principles and practices: We pursue truth; employ the discipline of verification; maintain independence; keep the news in perspective; and publish journalism that aims to be transparent.

However, wherever the freedom to believe is denied, there is fear, secrecy and often danger. So, we will name our sources when we can, and will protect them with anonymity when we must. Our reporters, whose work can anger those who oppress minority Christians, often work in places where police protection cannot always be expected, where orthodoxy can be enforced at the end of a gun, and where the rule of law doesn’t always run as it should. For those reasons, in most cases we do not publish the name of a story’s author. But neither do we make up fake reporter names.

We know the story of the Christian Church under pressure is larger than World Watch Monitor’s engagement with it, so we link to credible news and information about persecution that is published by others. Our goal is to be a valuable guide to the full breadth of this important story.

The WWM Team

Julia Bicknell has had over 30 years’ experience in the BBC, mainly BBC World Service and BBC World. She was a correspondent from Pakistan, has lived in Vietnam, and has spent extended time in Africa.

Jeff Thomas has spent 26 years in daily newspapers in the U.S., as a reporter, editor and executive editor.

Lauren Gunias has worked and trained as a journalist in both the United States and United Kingdom. Prior to joining WWM, she worked for the BBC, CNN International and WOUB News.

Using our material

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About links

Persecution is a story as old and wide as the Church, well beyond the ability of any single news service to report it completely. That's why World Watch Monitor frequently links to information sources around the Web.

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News articles published by other agencies that contain pertinent information not originally reported by World Watch Monitor

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Catching Our Eye

Pakistan's first female Christian footballer

Al Jazeera reports on the growing popularity of a young woman from Karachi who, as Pakistan's first Christian women to play football for her country, is emerging as a voice against religious intolerance.

Joyann Geraldine Thomas made her international debut in November 2014 at the age of 17, but the match barely received the attention associated with an international fixture even though there has been a lack of minority representation in Pakistan's sporting history.

Thomas was inspired by her mother, a track and field athlete who was denied the opportunity to run in provincial finals because of her faith.

Talking about the intolerance of Christians in her country, Thomas said: 'Pakistan must progress and it will only progress if it shows love and sincerity to all religions, races and ethnicities'.

At club level Thomas represents Balochistan United, the national champions. The club's president, Rubina Irfan, said: 'For us, there is no such thing as a Christian girl or a Muslim girl. Even the other girls (in the team) never think about things such as religion or caste'.

Nigeria's Christians flee ahead of election

An exodus of Christians from the mainly Muslim city of Kano, the commercial centre of northern Nigeria, is taking place because of fears of violence ahead of this weekend's elections.

Thousands are cramming onto coaches and heading to the east or south-west of the country. 'Kano is closing for business because of the fear of the unknown,' a spokesperson for the main bus station told the BBC.

‘Token’ arrests frustrate Indian bishop

An Indian bishop has accused police of ‘tokenism’ after swiftly releasing on bail six suspects allegedly caught on camera vandalising a cathedral in central India on March 20.

“Such kind of tokenism from police [will] not help bring in confidence among beleaguered Christians,” said Bishop Gerald Almeida.

The men were released after only an hour following the incident in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. The cathedral had been accused by a nationalist group, Hindu Dharma Sena, of converting 200 people to Christianity, although the group denied it was responsible for the vandalism.

Meanwhile, four men have been arrested on suspicion of attacking a church in New Panvel, near Mumbai, on March 21.

These incidents follow the release of a report highlighting a dramatic increase in anti-Christian violence and harassment in the 300 days since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP came to power.